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Land · Zoning check

What can you build on that lot?

Every square metre in the north of Samaná sits inside a zoning unit that fixes how much you may build, how much must stay green, how high you may go, and how many bedrooms you may register. Pick your area and enter the lot size.

MITUR Res. 06/2011Free · no signup
Examples
A · Where is the land?Samaná north
Areaas people name it locally
Zone 14 · Las Terrenas. Atlantic to the north, the Boulevard Turístico del Atlántico to the south, the Jobo river and El Jobo to the east, Cosón to the west (Art. 24).
Is it on the first line?caps height at 2 levels
First line is the first 40 m inland of the 60 m public maritime strip — roughly 60–100 m from the high-tide line. Nothing inside it may exceed 2 levels.
B · Lot sizem² of land
Total land areafrom the title or survey
m²
That is 2.4 tareas — the unit most Dominican titles use.
Not sure which area your lot is in?

The plan draws its boundaries along roads, rivers, contour lines and parcel numbers — not neighbourhood names. If your land sits near an edge, check it against the official zoning map before relying on any figure here.

Open the official MITUR zoning map (PDF) →
Buildable footprint
525 m²
On a 1,500 m² lot in Playa Bonita, the plan allows you to build on up to 525 m² of ground — about 35% of the land — keep at least 450 m² as green area, rise to 3 levels, and register up to 5 bedrooms. That works out to roughly 1,575 m² of total built floor area across all levels.
Zone 14 · Art. 24 (UA B Bonita)
Ground you may cover525 m²35% of the lot
Green area to keep450 m²min 30%
Height3 levelsmaximum
Bedrooms5at 35 hab/ha

Total floor area

Across all levels
1,575 m²
Footprint × levels — Article 8.4's own formula (35% × 3 = 1.05).

The footprint and green-area rules leave 35% of the lot unassigned. That is not wasted space — it absorbs the driveway, parking, pool, terraces, septic, and service areas that every build needs but that neither rule counts.

If you subdivide or build new here

Art. 24 (UA B Bonita)
Minimum lot1,000 m²
Maximum lot5,000 m²
Minimum frontage25 m
Front setback5 m
Side setback3 m
Rear setback5 m

Setbacks come off the buildable footprint before you draw anything — on a narrow lot they, not the occupation percentage, decide the shape of the house.

What the resolution says

Verbatim

«Primera Línea: queda definida por la ocupación en los primeros 40 metros [...] medidos a partir de los 60 metros de pleamar (Ley 305-68). [...] En ningún caso las edificaciones construidas en primera línea de playa podrán superar los 2 niveles de construcción ni tener terrazas sobre el techo del segundo nivel.»

Resolución MITUR No. 06/2011 (DPP), Art. 8

The parameters above for Playa Bonita come from Art. 24 (UA B Bonita) of the same resolution, cross-checked against the Article 28 summary table. Evalúa publishes the law as written — the ministry decides how it applies to your parcel.

What you may build is most of what land is worth.
Two neighbouring parcels at the same price per square metre can differ by a factor of three in what they will hold. Check the zoning before the price.
Check a fair price →
Take it with you

Download your zoning summary as a PDF.

A one-page PDF with your inputs and results — plus what to check next. It downloads instantly.

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Frequently asked questions

All questions →
Who decides what I can actually build?

The Ministry of Tourism, through its No Objection letter — issued under the Manual de Tramitación (Resolución 02/2012 DPP) and conditioned on an environmental permit from the Ministry of Environment. A calculator, a seller, and even an architect’s first sketch are all orientation; the ministry’s letter is the decision.

Does the 60-metre beach rule mean nobody owns the beachfront?

Not quite. Ley 305-68 puts a 60-metre strip measured inland from the ordinary high-tide line into the public domain, and Ley 64-00 declares it inalienable and unseizable. Titles predating 1968 can reach into it, but the construction ban is not written as subject to that exception — so even a grandfathered owner cannot build there. Beyond that strip, MITUR’s first-line rule caps the next 40 metres at two levels.

Why does the same lot size allow so much more in town than on the coast?

The plan deliberately concentrates density. Las Terrenas town centre allows 70% ground coverage, four levels and 150 bedrooms per hectare; a conservation unit like Las Caobas allows 20%, one level and 15. That spread — not the price per square metre — is usually what separates two parcels that look identical in a listing.

From the guide · Land & buildingWhat the Samaná zoning plan actually allowsThe MITUR units, the first-line cap, and how density rules decide what a lot is worth before you ever price it.Read the article →
Orientation only — not legal advice, not an architectural study, and not a zoning certificate. Figures are computed from Resolución MITUR No. 06/2011 (DPP) as transcribed from the official sealed scan; the resolution contemplated its own revision from five years after issue, and has not been checked here against any later amending instrument. Zone boundaries in this tool are approximated from each article's written delimitación and from named areas, not from surveyed cadastral lines — a lot near a boundary may fall in a different unit than its neighbourhood name suggests. The binding determination is the Ministry of Tourism's No Objection letter (Manual de Tramitación, Resolución 02/2012 DPP), which is itself conditioned on an environmental permit. Bedroom density, setbacks and frontage rules interact with your lot's shape and access in ways no calculator can see. Confirm everything with MITUR and a licensed Dominican architect before buying, designing, or building.